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Troubleshooting Imports and Display

Posted
Updated
ByJoseph Cox

Most import and display problems come down to a few common causes. Work through the section that matches what you see.

Import problems

My file is too big to upload

The Import screen shows your server’s Maximum file size.

  1. Go to ForeBranch → Dashboard → Diagnostics and check the UPLOAD tile.
  2. Run the File Upload Test.
  3. Ask your host to raise the upload limit to at least 16 MB, or larger than your file.

See Server Settings for Large Imports.

The import times out or stops partway

  1. On Diagnostics, check the TIME and MEMORY tiles, then run the WordPress Settings Test, Execution Time Test, and Memory Capacity Test.
  2. Ask your host for at least 300 seconds of execution time and 256 MB of memory.
  3. On ForeBranch → Import, click Show advanced options, set Processing chunk size to 500 lines (shared hosting), and keep Smart import optimization checked.
  4. Run the Database Connection Test to make sure the database stays connected during long operations.
  5. Import again.

Some people or events are missing after import

  1. On Diagnostics, use GEDCOM Comparison: choose the file and tree, then click Compare.
  2. Check that Import custom event types and Import all events were both ticked on the Import screen.
  3. If you used Add only, remember it skips existing people entirely, including their events, citations, and media links. Use Update tree to apply changes to existing people.
  4. Check whether the missing people are living or private. Visitors see “Private” instead of their details; log in as an Administrator to see everyone.

I see duplicate people after re-importing

  • Update tree matches people by person ID. It works best when you re-import from the same software you used last time, so the IDs stay the same.
  • To start clean, import with New / replace tree. This deletes everything in the tree, including place coordinates you added, before importing.

My place coordinates disappeared

Importing with New / replace tree deletes everything in the tree, including coordinates you added. Use Update tree for routine re-imports, and re-run geocoding (Pro) if needed.

I get database errors about missing tables or columns

  1. Go to ForeBranch → Dashboard → Database.
  2. Click Repair Tables. This recreates missing tables, columns, and indexes and keeps your data.

Display problems

Living people show as “Private”

That is ForeBranch protecting their privacy. Only Administrators see living people; this cannot be changed for other roles. If someone is wrongly treated as living:

  1. Add a death date in your genealogy software and re-import, or
  2. Click the Liv toggle for that person on ForeBranch → Individuals, or
  3. Adjust the rules under Configuration → Privacy Settings.

Public counts differ from the admin

The public pages and the admin screens can show different totals, for example for families and sources. To check that everything imported, use Diagnostics → GEDCOM Comparison rather than the public counts.

Photos are not showing on person pages (Pro)

  1. Go to ForeBranch → Media and click the File Missing tile.
  2. Upload the missing files with Bulk Upload.
  3. On Attach files, click Match library to GEDCOM.
  4. Check Still missing a WordPress file for anything left, upload those filenames, and match again.
  5. For media with no people, click the Unlinked tile, edit the item, and add people under Who is in this photo?.

A place is not on the map (Pro)

  1. Go to ForeBranch → Places → Browse and click Without Coords.
  2. Edit the place and use Get Coordinates, click the map, or enter the latitude and longitude.
  3. Check Places → Corrections for uncertain matches waiting for review.

A Pro tab or feature is not showing

  1. Check that both ForeBranch and ForeBranch Pro are active on the Plugins screen.
  2. Open ForeBranch → Dashboard and look for the Pro Add-on Active badge.
  3. Open ForeBranch → Account and confirm the Plan shows FOREBRANCH PRO. Click Sync License if needed.
  4. Check that the feature is switched on under ForeBranch → Dashboard → Configuration; for example, the Comments tab, Suggest a Correction, How are we related?, share buttons, and historical facts each have their own setting.

The design does not match my theme

Under Configuration → Appearance & Design, try a different design style or page width, or tick Match my WordPress theme (Pro) to use your theme’s fonts and colors.

The site feels slow

Go to ForeBranch → Dashboard → Database and click Optimize Now. Doing this monthly, and after large imports, is recommended.

Still stuck?

Visit the Support Forum at forebranch.com/forum. Pro customers can use priority email support. It helps to include your Diagnostics results and the relevant Activity Log entries (use Export CSV).

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